Labour's mayoral candidate Andy Burnham has called on the culture secretary to move Channel 4 to MediaCity - as pressure grows on the government to pick Salford over Birmingham.

Ministers have been weighing up for some time whether to relocate substantial parts of the broadcaster outside of London, with Birmingham originally thought to be the frontrunner.

However earlier this week we revealed Greater Manchester leaders had been pushing both the Treasury and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to pick MediaCity instead, arguing it makes more sense.

Now former culture secretary Mr Burnham is also making the case.

In a letter to current culture secretary Karen Bradley, he writes: “If I am elected in May as the first mayor of Greater Manchester, I will ask the combined authority to prepare an ambitious proposal to bring Channel 4 to our city-region.

“We will seek to develop this plan in partnership with business, media and digital partners in Greater Manchester and submit to your consultation.

Andy Burnham (Image: Manchester Evening News)

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“While I know you will want to look at other locations, I believe strongly that MediaCity makes Greater Manchester the only viable alternative outside of London as a home for the headquarters of Channel 4.”

He said that when culture secretary himself in 2008 many had made ‘doom-and-gloom warnings’ about the BBC’s move to Salford, arguing ‘it would never work’ and ‘would never be the same again’.

“They were perhaps right on that last point - the BBC is now stronger than it used to be in better reflecting the range of voices and perspectives from across the UK,” he writes.

ITV, which now also has a headquarters at MediaCity, had also been less than enthusiastic, he claims.

“The moaning wasn’t confined to the BBC.

“Around the same time, the then leadership of ITV said to me categorically that there was no future in regional production and that they wanted to be released from all of their public service broadcasting obligations to that effect.

“When I see ITV flourishing at MediaCity now, I often think back to those conversations and have cause to congratulate the current ITV leadership for ditching the

Greater Manchester has also included the idea in its submission to the government’s industrial strategy, arguing it would be a logical way to help rebalance the economy.

Culture secretary Karen Bradley announced in a speech at MediaCity on Tuesday that while Channel 4 would remain publicly-owned, the government is now reviewing where it is based in an effort to ensure its benefits are ‘spread far and wide’. Channel 4 bosses are opposed to a relocation, however, arguing it would be ‘highly damaging’.

A £1bn plan to radically expand MediaCity, which spans Salford and Trafford, was approved last year.